Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory Test is released for Linux and Windows. It doesn't require the original game. There is no WAIX mirrors at this time so i'll hold of the download till some one mirrors it.
This is awesome, I heard about this in PC Powerplay several months ago and it was going to be a expansion pack, but it's going to be released free and stand alone

[UPDATE] WAIX users can get a copy at 3FL and there should be a server at thor.3fl.net:27869.

This website sucks hard

It's the suckiest suck that ever sucked.

Grampa SimpsonJasper: "Website sucks, that's a paddlin' ..."

[Update] Aparently the suckiest suck is _me_ because it was Jasper not Grampa...

Found this Perth LAN centre website by accident this morning called 'The Virus Lounge'. I was feeling rather impartial towards it until I read this shocking statement on their about page:

The existence of a LAN centre in Western Australia was non existent until mid 2001 while the industry in such cities as Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane were thriving.

I was outraged!

A clue to 'The Virus Lounge': just because you were not aware of it doesn't mean it didn't exist.

I can remember going to Global Warriors in 1998. Proof of their existance can be found here and here:

" One of the first obscure abbreviations I came across when playing Q2 on the net was GW. After some inquiries to other players I was informed that it stood for ‘Global Warriors’ and was told the web site address. So it turns out Western Australia does have it’s own place of best possible gaming. It’s a medium sized premises in a light industrial area, the big main room filled with many chairs and tables sprouting RJ45 just waiting for computers to be plugged into the servers in the next room. On one side of the main room is a group of couches around a TV set and the pool table. This is the Mecca of WA Quake and Quake2, something happening every weekend and major events that go non stop all weekend every month or so"

Who remembers the Duel Comp in 1998 or Devastate '98 or the WAGL competition in 1999? All of these were held at Global Warriors.

I remember the original ClanCenter (yes with an 'er') in operation in 1999! The year in which they were packing up and moving to a new bigger location in Osbourne Park. The year in which they basically organised Devastate '99.

Hell, GamesDen started in 2000.

'Online' gaming has had a long history in Perth. I can remember back to 1996 but it started before that. I first started playing online (Quake) in 1997 on iiNet's servers and there was already a thriving community. LANs and LAN centres were a natural progression (mainly because everyone was playing with a modem and a ping of 200+ and wanted a better quality experience :) ) so it didn't take very long for them to get started.

'The Virus Lounge' is claiming trail blazing credit for starting at the end of 2001! Pffffffft! Where were they in '98 and '99: "After visiting Sydney in late 1999 and visiting many net cafes...". So they weren't even here, the LAN centre scene was already in full swing and they missed it. Or perhaps noone ever invited them to come along and they felt left out. Maybe they were not old enough then. Maybe their mum and dad didn't buy them a PC till 2001.

Regardless, it's clearly obvious that 'The Virus Lounge' is just a new comer claiming a bit more credit than they really deserve. The trail was already blazed, they were just never there.

Now respond with heartfelt outrage, and make them pay for their insolence!

http://www.dansdata.com/kitten.htm It scores 11 against a new video card which scored a 3.

Look, screenshots.

Read more...

Didn't take long for the Geforce FX gags to come out...
http://www.beyond3d.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4063
http://members.optushome.com.au/raver1/introduction.htm

Here's hoping the performance will be worth the hearing loss.
If you spot any more, add a comment with the details and we'll list them.

Get the goodness from AusGamers here!

My favourites:

• SafeDisk check only when starting game and not when changing maps (finally!)


• Reloading time on sniper and engineer rifles reduced by 33% (yee haa!)


• TK Punishment System (weeee!)

Mmmmmm pretty. And hot and noisy; this thing puts out about 60 to 70 watts of heat and noise up to 60dB. Maybe it doubles as a hair drier?

[Update] Tom's Hardware has a few MP3s so you can hear it for yourself.

x-bit labs have a look at this interesting looking card from eVGA. The cover plate with artwork that punters will either love or hate, but is eye catching either way, actually hides a well thought out cooling system. Check it out. Stupendous!

Hmmmm... maybe I just misunderstood what "view larger image" was all about, but this popup image left a little to be desired...

Panasonic's 11.9mm widescreen rear projection TV

Tweak Town's BF1942 tweak guide offers more than you thought you needed to know about the workings of the game. It's worth a read if only for this awsome tip:

To avoid the intro movie and the EA Games and Dice logo animations add ' +restart 1' to the shorcut target.

The game now jumps straight to menu in a few seconds. Tell all your friends!

Evil Empire wishes one and all a very merry Xmas. Hoping all of you have the geek Xmas you've been dreaming of. =:0P

Tom has released a new set of VGA charts benchmarking a whole bunch of popular cards on highend P4 (3GHz) and AMD (XP2700) systems. Couple of interesting points; the Radeon 9700Pro is lightyears ahead of the GF4 4600, except when it isn't, like in Jedi Knight II where the 4600 beats it by a thin margin. It's also interesting to watch the Radeon 9500 Pro jump all over the place. At one point it's ahead of the GF4 4600 (UT2003) and somtimes behind the GF4 4200 (Jedi Knight II again).

According to Razor Prices the cheapest 128MB Radeon 9500 Pro is $440 inc. freight (AusPC Market) while the cheapest 128MB GF4 4600 is $479 no frieght, internet order only (Umart). Does that make the 9500 a 'bang for buck' bargain?

It looks like a lot of people are happy with the new Coral Sea map. GameArena have 2 servers dedicated to the level! Purists may argue that the best characteristic of a BF1942 game, the variety available to a player, has been taken out of this one but I mean, c'mon, flying planes is fun! And we've never had so many planes in the sky at one time!

Here's a few screenshots showing the chaos that usually occurs on this map.

Read more...

As a treat for the holidays, EA has released a new map for Battlefield 1942: Coral Sea. This map has a total of 24 planes available! From the EA page:

"Coral Sea is an exciting new map set in the Pacific theater. The action is fast and furious as players test their piloting skills with a total of 24 planes available on the map. The action isn’t limited to dogfighting however as each side has a carrier that they need to defend at all costs. To win, you’ll need to sink the enemy carrier, and then fly through a buoy that appears amidst the wreckage of the ship. Throw in some land-based AA guns and a defensive gun or two in the mix, and you’ve got our latest recipe for a great Battlefield 1942 holiday treat!"

Downloads available from EA: Map and server.